Cecilia Gu smiled.
Sophie Mo let out a gentle sigh, elegantly resting her chin on one hand as she gazed at Cecilia Gu. She spoke softly, "Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I really want to thank you for being here. Nora's departure hit all of us hard. Even though I know you're not Nora, seeing you so healthy makes me feel like she's still alive in some way."
"If my presence brings you comfort, then at least this face hasn't gone to waste," Cecilia replied with a smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, both of them exchanged a smile.
Unlike Rona Muir's sultry allure, Sophie Mo was slender and delicate, always giving off the impression of a willow swaying in the wind.
Maybe it was because Sophie Mo liked Nora Yun, and Nora was the epitome of a fragile beauty, so Sophie subconsciously followed that style herself?
Sophie Mo had food brought to their table, not letting Cecilia get up. She personally served Cecilia some dishes.
"If you don't like the food, just let me know. We prepared over a hundred and twenty dishes tonight, plus dozens of desserts and fruits. If there's anything you especially want but we don't have, that's fine! If we can make it, we'll do it ourselves. If not, we'll buy it outside." Sophie Mo grinned mischievously at Cecilia. "My brother said, even if I offend every other guest tonight, I can't let you feel wronged!"
Cecilia waved her hand. "It's fine, I'm past the morning sickness phase now. I can eat anything."
Even though Sophie Mo had led Cecilia to a quiet corner, Cecilia's identity was just too dazzling. It wasn’t long before someone came over, looking to stir up trouble.
"Mrs. Yin is in such good spirits, hiding away here with Miss Mo for a bit of peace!" A strange woman's voice drifted over from afar. "Mrs. Yin is really lucky to have married a man like Mr. Yin. So many people must be jealous of you."
Cecilia looked up and saw a group of women walking toward her.
She sighed inwardly: Looks like this husband of mine has attracted quite a few romantic rivals for me...
Sophie Mo frowned.
She really didn't like the tone of these women.
So sharp and mean.
Even though Cecilia wasn't Nora Yun, as the saying goes, love me, love my dog.
Just because Cecilia looked so much like Nora Yun, Sophie Mo couldn't stand to see anyone bully her.
Besides, the Mo Family was the host tonight. Purposely provoking Cecilia in front of Sophie Mo was basically slapping the Mo Family in the face.
Before Cecilia could say anything, Sophie Mo calmly responded, "Miss Zoe, aren't you mistaken? It's Mr. Yin who's lucky. After searching for twenty-eight years, heaven finally smiled on him and he got to marry Cecilia."
"Miss Mo, even if you want to flatter Mrs. Yin, you don't have to put down Mr. Yin like that, do you?" Miss Zoe, relying on her own military and political background, wasn't polite to Sophie Mo and aimed her words directly at her. "Just because the Yin and Mo families are working together, and Miss Mo's job is to please Mrs. Yin, doesn't mean I can't speak the truth, right?"
"You..." Sophie's expression changed.
Sophie had never liked Miss Zoe since the first time she saw her in Newport City.
As expected, their personalities just didn't mesh!
"Is it Mr. Yin who's marrying up, or Mrs. Yin who's marrying up? Anyone with eyes can see, right?" Another girl beside Miss Zoe chimed in, piling on.
Sophie's face grew even more sour.
Seeing Sophie Mo, whom she'd just met, standing up for her made Cecilia feel touched. But she didn't want Sophie to be put on the defensive.
Cecilia reached out and pressed Sophie's hand, smiling as she said, "It's fine, let them talk! If they have what it takes, they can be Mrs. Yin too! I don't mind giving up my spot, as long as they've got the skills!"
"Well said!" Sophie's eyes lit up, her voice rising a little. "If you've got what it takes, go chase after Charles Yin! Ganging up on a pregnant woman—how unworthy of your so-called noble status!"
Miss Zoe and the others instantly looked embarrassed.
"Hmph!" Miss Zoe snorted coldly. She was clearly unwilling to give in, but since the gauntlet had been thrown, continuing to argue would only make her look bad.
"That was really bold of you just now!" Sophie Mo sighed softly to Cecilia. "You know, you didn't look like Nora Yun at all in that moment! Nora Yun would never let herself get caught up in a situation like this. She's always so graceful—everyone loves her."
"That's exactly why I'm Cecilia Gu and not Nora Yun!" Cecilia answered with a smile. "We're not the same person, so of course we're different."
"True enough," Sophie nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for standing up for me just now," Cecilia continued. "No matter what, I appreciate it. As the host, you have a duty to take care of your guests, but I'm just one of the Mo family's guests, like those other people. Yet you chose to defend me against them, and I won't forget that."
Sophie just smiled faintly and didn't reply.
What happened here was really just a minor thing.
There weren't many people around to watch, but the incident still reached Charles Yin and Max Mo quickly.
When Charles Yin heard that someone was making things difficult for Cecilia, he and Max Mo reacted completely differently.
Charles immediately told Little A to look into the background of Miss Zoe, the one who started it all.
Anyone who dared bully Charles Yin's woman... well, they'd just have to wait and see what happened next.
Max Mo, on the other hand, was only slightly moved when he heard about it. He didn't take any action.
He just quietly told Sophie Mo to keep an extra eye on Cecilia.
After Miss Zoe tested the waters, the other women still didn't like Cecilia, but with Sophie Mo there, they didn't dare do anything to her.
This chapter isn't over yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!
Besides, no matter how jealous they were, they still cared about keeping up appearances.
Being publicly mocked is honestly not a good feeling.
Plus, Cecilia had outright said that if they wanted to take her place, they should go for it. They wanted to, but couldn't!
If they could've replaced her, they would've done it ages ago. Why wait until now?
Soon enough, Charles Yin left the crowd around him and went straight to Cecilia, personally picking up a napkin to wipe the corner of her mouth.
His careful, focused movements and the gentle, almost drowning look in his eyes made the single ladies watching wish they could burn Cecilia to ashes with their jealous glares.
The gentler Charles was to Cecilia, the angrier those women became inside.
"Why did you come over here?" Cecilia was so startled by Charles's actions, she nearly panicked.
Had he lost his mind?
Showing off their affection in front of all these people?
Was that really necessary?
"You weren't in front of me, so I missed you." Such a simple, honest sentence—it beat a thousand flowery love confessions.
That one line dealt a massive blow to all the women secretly longing for Charles Yin.
Now, whenever those women looked at Cecilia, they were practically losing their minds with jealousy!
The man they'd admired for so long had been snatched away by such an ordinary woman—how could they accept that?
Sophie Mo saw Charles Yin coming over and immediately said with tact, "Now that Mr. Yin is here, I can finally report back! Mr. Yin, since I've taken such good care of your wife, will you let me have a little extra profit in our partnership?"
Hearing Sophie's words, Charles Yin actually broke his usual domineering business style and just smiled, nodding, "Of course, I'll consider it! That little bit of profit is nothing compared to my wife's safety."
The women watching felt a heavy blow to their hearts.
They were hit with ten thousand points of emotional damage right then.
Charles Yin openly showered Cecilia with affection, which was basically a warning to all the other women: his marriage was happy, so anyone hoping to take Cecilia's place as Mrs. Yin could just give up!
When most of the others had finally left, Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief.
Playing along with Charles was exhausting, honestly.
"What you said earlier was great. You should keep it up. My wife isn't someone just anyone can challenge," Charles suddenly said.
Cecilia looked utterly confused.
Did she say something just now?
No, right? She didn't really say anything, did she?
Charles picked up a fork, speared a piece of fruit, and held it to Cecilia's lips. Cecilia stiffened, about to refuse, but caught sight of the jealous faces still watching her and obediently ate the fruit.
"Next time something like this happens, just let them come at me directly," Charles said, pleased with Cecilia's cooperation. "It's better for them to bother me than to bother you."
Cecilia blinked, and after a moment, finally figured it out.
So he was talking about the way she fired back at those women!
Hehehe...
Of course she wasn't about to stupidly take the brunt of those women's attacks herself.
She and Charles weren't really in love, and once she had the baby, she'd leave the Yin family and Charles Yin.
Whoever wanted to be Mrs. Yin in the future could go right ahead—it had nothing to do with her.
So of course, any trouble she could redirect, she did without hesitation.
But when Charles heard those words, he thought Cecilia was just being confident—commanding and unstoppable!
Yep, only a woman with that kind of presence deserved to be Charles Yin's wife!
Cecilia just mumbled a couple of vague replies, refusing to clarify the misunderstanding.
If she explained everything, nobody would get a peaceful night tonight.
Charles was, after all, the star of the day—he couldn't spend every moment with Cecilia.
Still, even that brief time together was enough to sound the alarm for the others. Anyone thinking about causing trouble for Cecilia had better back off, at least for now.